The integration of marketing communications 401
re-examine the way in which consumers use
sources of commercial information. A partic-
ular issue to be addressed is, as she describes it,
the ‘credibility dimension’, which involves not
only the underlying credibility of the message,
but the credibility of the sponsor delivering the
message.
A contradiction
The inability to store and process new informa-
tion, coupled with the demand for a greater
focus in marketing communications messages,
has resulted in the consumer relying more on
perceptual values than on factual information.
All consumers build up a set of ‘values’ which
they associate with a company or a brand.
Some of these values will be based on personal
experience, or the experience of others. Much of
it will be based, however, on a set of ‘short
handed conclusions’ based on overheard
opinions, the evaluation of third party organi-
zations, even the misinterpretation of informa-
tion. These two factors combine to create a new
dynamic for marketing communications.
However, these thought processes are
developed, and however the information is
received is less important than the fact that for
the individual their views represent the truth. A
product which is perceived to be inferior (even
though there is factual evidence to contradict
this view) is unlikely to be chosen in a normal
competitive environment. The imperative,
therefore, is to understand the process of
perceptual encoding and relate it to the task of
marketing communications. A simple example
will suffice.
Most consumers are responsive to a ‘bar-
gain’ proposition. And certain assumptions are
made, particularly in relation to well-known
and familiar brands. If a potential consumer
sees a product on sale in a market environment,
there is some expectation that the price will be
lower than, say, in the normal retail environ-
ment. If the brand name is well established,
then it is likely that they will be able to draw
from it the confidence and reassurance which
will be necessary to the making of a purchase
decision. Indeed, there is considerable evidence
that these perceptual factors, influenced by the
environment, will for some consumers induce
them to make a purchase, even though they
might have been able to purchase the same
product at a lower price elsewhere.
Many retailers have recognized this situa-
tion and have adopted a positioning relative to
their competitors of low price. By marking
down the prices of a narrow range of products,
they encourage the consumer to believe that all
products are similarly discounted. The result is
that the consumer will decide to make all of his
or her purchases at that outlet based on the
perceptions derived from a limited comparison
of those brands upon which the retailer has
focused marketing communications activity.
Since few consumers are in a position to make
objective comparisons across a wide range of
comparable outlets, these perceptions are
accepted and become the reality.
The situation is compounded by the fact
that price is only one consideration in a
purchase decision. Most people have an ideal
view of a price and quality combination.
Needless to say, such a view is highly personal
and subjective, but becomes the basis of mak-
ing subsequent purchase decisions for that
individual. Thus, reputation, both for retailers
and brands, will be an important consideration
in the purchase selection.Changes in family composition
Long gone are the notions of the family
comprising two adults and 2.4 children.
In all countries, the notion of family itself
has different meanings. Some communities
perceive the family as a small integrated unit,
others adopt a model of the extended family
with the elder children having responsibility for
ageing members of the family – either parents or
grandparents. The increasing levels of divorce
and the growing acceptance, by some, that
marriage is not a norm to which they wish to
comply has resulted in growing numbers of